After its doubleheader sweep Jan. 26, Indiana women’s tennis head coach Gabrielle Moore stressed building on momentum and capitalizing on a great road opportunity against a quality Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
The opportunity was there but the Hoosiers couldn’t capitalize.
Indiana looked to continue its undefeated start to the season as it traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia, to face Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The two programs met for the first time in their teams’ history Saturday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center. The Hokies nabbed the 4-0 victory over the Hoosiers.
Unlike each of the first three matches this season, Indiana fell behind early by dropping the doubles point. The pair of Virginia Tech seniors Semra Asku and Tara Gorinsek rolled through their match 6-2 over Indiana sophomores Magdalena Swierczynska and Li Hsin Li on the No. 2 doubles court.
Similarly, on the No. 1 doubles court, the Indiana pairing of redshirt senior Lara Schneider and junior Nicole Teodosescu were defeated 6-3 at the hands of senior Charlotte Cartledge and junior Özlem Uslu. The pair of Hokies are ranked the No. 62 doubles team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Cartledge and Uslu’s win clinched the doubles point for the home squad.
In singles, the winning continued for the Hokies. Virginia Tech picked up its first win with No. 124 sophomore Laima Frosch knocking off Swierczynska 6-0, 6-1. More of the same carried on for the Hokies as No. 21 Uslu prevailed over Indiana’s Teodosescu in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1 on the No. 1 singles court.
On the No. 4 singles court, Gorinsek sealed the match victory for Virginia Tech when she prevailed over Hoosier freshman Nicole Sifuentes 6-0, 7-5.
Indiana’s Schneider, sophomore Elisabeth Dunac and freshman Marina Fuduric all won the first set in their respective matches before the overall match concluded during the second sets.
Indiana will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it hosts Marshall University on Friday at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington.
Follow reporter Noah Gerkey (@Noah_Gerk) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s tennis season.
